Essentric
by Danali Cross
Summary: People call my pokemon "eccentric" which is just the nice way of saying my pokemon are crazy. But I can't argue with them, because it's the truth. Rated T for some mild swearing, but could probably be rated K plus.
1. Growlithe

**I feel that I should put in here that the picture for this story is not mine. I found it on the internet. All rights go to that person.**

**Also, I do not own Pokemon. Not even one, to my disappointment. I can only hope that one day in the future genetic engineering will get good enough for me to buy one.**

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Chapter 1: Growlithe

People call my pokemon "eccentric" which is just the nice way of saying my pokemon are crazy. But I can't argue with them, because it's the truth.

Unlike most trainers, I didn't receive my first pokemon at the age of ten. My parents had this idea in their head that I shouldn't have to worry about money, or traveling by myself, or food, or training, or where I would sleep at night, or anything else while still a "child".

It was stupid.

But thus, as every one of my friends turned ten and started their journey, I was left behind. There were a few of my classmates who started their journeys between the ages of eleven and twelve, which was considered _late_. But no matter how much I begged, my parents refused to let me start my life. And by the age of thirteen there were only two people left in my class: me and Gwen.

Gwen's parents are probably the best breeders in Johto, and often worked closely with my parents. When we were three years old, our parents decided to let us meet. We instantly became best friends, and still are to this day. Gwen had decided a few years after we met that she would like to become a breeder, just like her parents. That was why she stayed in town after she received her first pokemon (at the appropriate age, I pointed out to my parents, who just ignored me), Ditto. Every day she worked on her parents land taking care of the pokemon, communicating with customers, and trying to stop me from messing too many things up. Its a tough job. Luckily, she only had to deal with me in the afternoon, once I finish with my tutors, so it made life a little easier.

The school in our town didn't offer classes to anyone above the age of fourteen. But my parents had the silly idea that I needed to learn more, even though I had graduated at the top of my class (what did it matter if my class only consisted of Gwen and myself?). Therefore, I had tutors. That is beside the point though.

Things changed, however, on my sixteenth birthday.

I woke up and decided that I should really get more sleep. But before I could fall back asleep, the doorbell rang. I ignored it, thinking one of my parents would answer it. I was proven wrong though when it rang again, and again. Opening one eye just enough to make out the time, I realized that my parents were already at work. _Maybe if I ignore it, it will go away_, I thought. But it seemed that even though it was my birthday and I wanted nothing more then sleep, the universe was out to get me.

I refused to open my eyes as I stumbled out of my room and almost fell down the stairs. I decided at that moment that I would one day perfect sleep walking without tripping. It just wouldn't be that day. When I finally made it to the door, it had been rung another four times. Pausing, I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for the horror I was about to unleash in my house, and pushed the door open.

Standing on my porch was Gwen, in all her morning glory. Her strawberry blond hair fell in ringlets down to the middle of her back, while the ribbon she had tied on the side almost blinded me from the sparkles reflecting the sun's light. Her skirt and flip flops were blue, which matched the white and blue tank top she wore. Ditto sat happily in her arms while she smiled and sang, "Happy Birthday, Tori!"

Something close to a growl escaped my lips. Gwen just laughed and walked into the house, somehow getting past the barrier I had constructed with my body. I sighed, knowing I had lost the battle, and closed to door.

Gwen was still smiling at me, until she saw what I was wearing. They had been my dad's old clothes, but he refused to wear them because they were so tattered. I had run out of pajamas one day, and grabbed them for something to wear. They had now become standard issue for me. Gwen started to open her mouth to say something about the ripped up shirt and pants I was wearing, but I held up my hand to stop her.

"It's _my_ birthday. No commenting on what I choose to wear for it," I said. Gwen frowned slightly, while Ditto slumped more into a puddle, before the megawatt smile came back. I instantly became weary.

"Take a shower and get dressed. We have things to do, and people to see!" she said while pushing me back towards my room.

I grumbled something about lack of sleep and needing new friends who aren't morning people, which just caused Gwen to laugh again.

One hour later, we left the house. It would have been less, but Gwen refused to let me leave before I tried on every outfit I owned and then redoing my make up. I didn't argue, knowing that it would have just made the process longer. Once Gwen made up her mind, only her Ditto and a legendary pokemon could distract her long enough so that you could escape.

Since it was my birthday, I didn't have to see my tutors and Gwen had asked for the day off. We spent it running around town window shopping and trying things on just for the fun of it. Although, Gwen did end up buying a new hat that she couldn't live without. By the afternoon, I admitted to myself that I was glad Gwen had woken me up and forced me to go out. She didn't need me to say it out loud to know.

"I should head back, my parents want to take me out to some fancy dinner tonight before they give me my present," I said to Gwen, "Who knows, maybe this year it'll be a pokemon." I laughed while Gwen smiled at me. It had become a running joke over the years on how I didn't have a pokemon. "I'll see you tomorrow!" I said as I started to walk away.

"Wait!" Gwen caught my sleeve before I had moved very far. She held out her other hand that had a small box wrapped in pink paper and a pink bow. "Happy Birthday," she said for the second time that day.

I crinkled my nose, "Pink?"

"I'm hoping one day you'll surprise me and actually act like a girl." I stuck my tongue out at her, but she ignored it. "Don't open it until after dinner, ok? See ya tomorrow!" Gwen yelled as she made her way down the street. I sighed and put the box away in my pocket.

Dinner was pleasant, considering my parents tried to stay away from the topic of work. It would never completely leave a conversation, but they were making an effort, and that was all I cared about.

All through dinner I didn't mention a present, figuring it would be after we ate that they gave it to me. When dessert came with no mention of a present, I started to get a little curious. But I kept my mouth closed. Once the bill was paid and we were walking home, I figured they had forgotten. Not once during dinner had either wished me a happy birthday. I kept dragging my feet and kicking rocks, but it had no effect. I even tried to add a dramatic sigh once or twice, still to no avail. Once we reached home I mumbled something about heading to my room for the night.

"Don't you want your present?" My mother asked. I could only stare at them with my mouth slightly open. She laughed and poked my dad in the side, who then reached into a pocket and held out a little red and white ball. My mouth fell even farther. Keeping my eyes on my parents to look for any sign of a joke I slowly reached my hand out for the pokeball. Once my finger touched it, I grabbed it as fast as I could and held it to me.

"Thank you so much! I love you both! My first pokemon!" I started to babble as I danced in a circle while clutching the pokeball. Suddenly, I stopped and glared at my parents, "There is a real pokemon inside this, right? This isn't like some new pokeball you want me to look at for work, right?"

This only caused more laughter from the two. "You'll have to open it to see," spoke my dad.

Cautiously, I enlarged the pokeball. Then threw it up calling, "Come out?"

Sitting in front of my was a pokemon that would be slightly smaller then my waste when I was standing up. It was orange with black stripes, and small tuffs of tan fur. Chocolate eyes stared directly into my green ones. Its head tipped to one side in a confused manner with a, "Growl?"

My only thought was, _So cute!_ Later, I would learn to resent this cuteness.

That was the day I received my first pokemon, Growlithe. That was also the day my problems began.

I launched myself at the growlithe and hugged him (her? I wasn't about to look and see) while saying, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I love you guys so much!-" I'm sad to say it kinda just turned to blubbering at that point.

Luckily, my mother decided to interrupt me, "I'm so glad you like him." _So it was a him_. "We had the Green's breed him special for you. Growlithe are already so protective of their trainers, so we knew we could trust one to keep you safe. Plus, you have always loved fire pokemon. We also looked at getting you a poynta, but you could seriously hurt yourself if you fell off." This was when I realized where I got my blubbering tendencies from.

Finally letting go of my growlithe, I hugged my parents. "Thank you!" I said for the hundredth time.

My parents smiled as I pulled back. Then my father turned to the growlithe, "You see this girl?" The growlithe looked at me then back to my father. "She is your trainer," he continued, "your job is to make sure nothing harms her. Can you do that?" Growlithe stood up and barked once, then padded over to sit in front of me. It seemed a little too enthusiastic to me, but I wouldn't argue.

However, only a part of my brain was focused on the exchange between my pokemon and my parents. The rest was trying to decide what town I should travel to first and what gym I should challenge first.

"This is so exciting!" I almost yelled in happiness. "I promise I'll write every week. Ok, maybe not _every_ week, but I'll write a lot. Because sometimes traveling can be so unpredictable, and I just don't want you to worry if you don't hear from me for awhile." I would have kept going at this point, but my parents were giving me a weird look.

"What?" I asked, while the dread in my stomach continued to grow.

My father was the one to reply, "Just because we gave you a pokemon, doesn't mean you are allowed to travel yet."

My heart sank.

"He is so young. And so are you. It takes time for a pokemon and trainer to bond."

I felt like crying.

"Take some time here so that you two can train and become stronger."

Now I really felt the tears coming.

"Just give it a few more years-"

The rest of my father's sentence was cut off as I ran out of the room. I wouldn't let him see me cry. My mother had seen me cry plenty of times, but my father never had. I thought he would see me as stronger if he never saw me cry.

I got to my room and almost slammed the door shut when Growlithe popped in behind me. I decided that he could stay, and shut the door. Then I flung my arms around Growlithe and cried. My parents didn't come after me. I didn't expect them to, it would be too much trouble seeing as neither one of us would change our minds. It still hurt though.

After I had regained some composure, I released Growlithe. For a second I considered packing and leaving. Then dismissed that thought. My parents would have the police after me within half an hour.

Two years. In two years I would be eighteen and an adult. At that point, my parents couldn't keep me here any longer. So that gave me two years to find more pokemon (how? I wasn't sure yet) and train with them to become so strong I could defeat all eight gyms in a month.

With determination on my mind I looked at Growlithe and said, "Wanna train?" Growlithe jumped up with his tail wagging and barked. I was just about to open the door when I saw a little pink package sitting on my desk. _Right, the present from Gwen_.

I reached over and ripped of the wrapping paper. Then I opened the box. Inside was a piece of jewelry (Really,I shouldn't have expected anything less from Gwen). It was a bracelet made with a simple silver chain and six small points hanging from it. Each point had a small claw that would hook perfectly with a pokeball. Then it hit me, Gwen had known my parents were giving me a pokemon.

I don't know why I didn't realize it sooner, when my mother had told me the Greens' had bred Growlithe. Heck, Gwen was probably the one who picked out the parents. What the hell? Gwen had known that one of my life's dream was about to come true, and she didn't tell me? That was it. Anger had now replaced my determination.

"Change of plans, Growlithe. We're going to go pay a visit to Gwen's."

Getting out of the house was simple. I had yelled to my parents I was going to visit Gwen, and walked out the door. I guess they thought I needed to talk things through with a friend before trying to confront me. Smart move. Gwen always was able to talking me into doing things for my parents I normally wouldn't do. It was after I left the house and we reached the forest that things got tougher.

My house was in the outskirts of the town. Gwen's house was about a mile into the forest that surrounds the city. So roughly, it took me half an hour to walk to from my house to Gwen's (Don't laugh. I'm not one for walking fast.).

Because of the late hour, no one was out walking. Most were asleep, others didn't feel safe walking with pokemon so close to the town. Which was why Growlithe and I reached the forest fairly quickly.

I hadn't even taken two steps when suddenly the ground seemed to be a lot closer to my face. In the second it took me to contemplate as to why this was, my face came into contact with the ground. Unfortunately for me, my mouth had been slightly open and it filled with dirt. I also felt a very uncomfortable weight on top of me. Barking and growling seemed to be coming from it.

I froze. _Crap!_ I hadn't been looking where I was walking and must have run into some bad pokemon. Growlithe had spotted it and must have jumped on me in order to protect me. As quietly as I could, I spit out as much dirt as I could. The growling above hadn't stopped yet. Fearing for the worst, I looked up slowly so as not to startle the pokemon.

Not a foot in front of me stood a quivering caterpie.

"Was that it?" I couldn't help but ask out loud. Growlithe just kept growling while the caterpie looked like it wanted to become invisible.

"Oh get off me! Would ya!" I yelled as I tried to escape from under my pokemon. Finally, I was able to knock him off of me.

I got up while dusting myself off. Then turned towards the two pokemon. Growlithe was still in an attacking position, while the caterpie was trying its best to slowly move towards a bush. But every time it moved an inch, Growlithe would bark.

"Knock it off!" I yelled. Growlithe looked at me with a confused look on his face. Asking what he had done wrong. I just ignored him and walked between the two pokemon. Then knelled down and smiled at the caterpie, "It's ok. He wont hurt you. Go ahead back to whatever you were doing." The caterpie just looked even more frightened, but slowly moved away. When it finally reached the bush, it disappeared.

I stood back up and faced Growlithe with a scowl on my face. He had the audacity to wag his tale in satisfaction. I was ready to kill the stupid thing. But then I realized that he was a puppy, and probably didn't know which pokemon were safe or not.

I took a deep breath trying to calm myself and then spoke, "That was a caterpie. It's a pretty safe pokemon. Doesn't typically attack unless it has to." Growlithe tilted his head to the side in confusion. I decided to simplify things. "Don't attack a caterpie in the wild unless I ask you to, ok? You don't have to protect me from one," I finished with a smile.

Growlithe just wagged his tail and barked.

Taking this as a sign he understood me, I started towards Gwen's house again. I stayed tense the first minute after we started to walk, waiting for Growlithe to tackle me to the ground again. Minute two, I started to relax a little. Minute three, I figured that he really had listened and understood what I had said. Minute four, my face was back in the dirt with Growlithe standing on my back.

Granted this time it wasn't a caterpie, it was a pidgey.

Which is why it took me an hour, and seventeen face-plants, to reach Gwen's house. Every single pokemon we had come across ended up the same way; my face in the dirt with Growlithe on my back.

Now that we were back on what was a paved road, Growlithe had relaxed a little. I still muttered curses under my breath. It was all Gwen's fault. Her letting my parents give me a psychotic pokemon. Her breeding said pokemon. Her living so far into the damn forest.

Yes, Gwen was going to die.

I rang the doorbell and waited, with arms crossed and foot tapping, for someone to answer the door. I saw someone peek through the side window and then heard the door unlatch. Just as the door swung open and I opened my mouth to yell at Gwen, I was pushed off the porch by none other then my barking growlithe.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" I screamed while trying to pull myself out of the bush I had landed in. The barking stopped, much to my relief.

I slowly climbed my way up the stairs while pulling a leaf out of my hair. Then I scowled down at Growlithe, who just sat there wagging his tail and some happy grin on his face. My scowl deepened.

I was brought out of it when I heard Gwen laughing (my pain always seemed to amuse her). I glanced up at her and saw Ditto standing (sitting? who could tell with a blob) behind one of her legs. It was then that my anger resurfaced.

"You!" I said while pointing an accusing finger at her. "You knew! You knew my parents had gotten me a pokemon! And you didn't tell me! Then to make matters worse, you bred a pokemon who's more overprotective then my _mother_ is! How did you do that? I didn't think it was possible. Why did you do this to me? I thought we were friends. But alas, I was wrong-" my speech continued as Gwen dragged me into the house. _  
_

It took half an hour, hot chocolate, and some ice cream before I had finished complaining about my day after Gwen had left me at the mall. Gwen had shown great restraint, and only slightly laughed at me while I was telling my story.

"Your parents just want what's best for you." I scowled, but Gwen ignored me. "And Growlithe is just doing what he thinks he has to in order to protect you," she tried to console me as I ate the last bit of my ice cream. "He wasn't like that before we gave him to you. Sorry," she continued.

I sighed dramatically. I guess I was stuck with the overprotective pokemon, no way would my parents ever let me get rid of him once they learned of how seriously he took his job. Anyways, he did seem to be pretty strong. Maybe, with some training, I could teach him that not everything in life was out to get me.

Quietly, I set down my empty bowl. "Thanks for everything, Gwen," I attempted a weak smile.

"Want to spend the night? It is kinda late," Gwen offered. The offer was tempting. I didn't know if I could make it home if it was anything like the trip out here. Unwittingly, my eyes slid over to the sleeping Growlithe at my feet. But then I realized that life at the Greens' house started sometime before the sun rose. That made my decision easy.

"No thanks. I need the walk in order to burn off some of the sugar," I responded. Gwen just smiled. She knew the real reason I turned down the offer, but wouldn't say anything.

I walked towards the front door with Growlithe close beside me. I looked back at Gwen once I had the door open, "See you tomorrow. Hey, we should have a battle! Growlithe verses Ditto!" Ditto hid behind Gwen at that. I laughed.

"Bye, I'll let your parents know that your on your way home," Gwen said as myself and my pokemon made our way down the porch. I raised my hand, signaling I had heard her. Then I heard the door click shut.

As I left Gwen's house I prayed that the trip back wouldn't take me an hour. It was also a little colder then I thought it would be. I started to regret not accepting Gwen's offer to spend the night sleeping on her couch. I quickly glanced back at the house that was slowly becoming smaller. Again the idea of being woken up before the sun entered my mind, and I knew I had made the right choice.

I took another step and then found myself falling towards the ground...again. _Why couldn't my parents get me a normal pokemon for my birthday? _was all I was able to think before my face was smashed into the dirt.

In front of me, a caterpie was shaking in fear.

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**A/N:**

**I decided to write this story after I went camping with my new three month old puppy.**

**Now, let me explain why. My camp ground is within walking distance to an area a bear has been known to live. The only reason I can handle camping there is because there is also a cabin I can run inside screaming at any point should the bear decide to visit me.**

**That was why I kinda freaked out when my puppy started to bark that first night. I quickly grabbed my puppy and my older dog, and ran inside. Once inside, I found a flashlight and pointed it to where my puppy had been barking. Standing on the other side of the little creek...was a cow. At that moment, my puppy looked out the window, saw the cow, and started to bark again.**

**For three weeks, whenever my puppy saw a cow, he started to bark. No matter how much I told him it was ok. For some reason, he had decided that cows were evil, and he must protect me from them. My other, older dog would just look at me like, **_**Why did you bring that brat here? **_

**Honestly, I asked myself that same question.**

**Now that you know the story behind this all, please review. It would make my day.**


	2. The Competition

**A/N: I wasn't planning on writing any more for this story, but then I got some inspiration. Granted, this turned out nothing like how I thought it would, but I'm kinda excited how it went. I may write more, but only if I have free time(which doesn't happen that often with work and school). **

**Also, thank you for the reviews, they made me smile. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter, too.**

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Chapter 2: The Competition

After my first day with Growlithe, I was ready to ditch him. I didn't care how cute he was, or how powerful he could become. I wanted him gone. However, when I told my parents of how he seemed determined to protect me from _everything_, it only endeared him more in their hearts.

The one good thing that came out of constantly having Growlithe follow me (as he refused to return to his pokeball) was that my reflexes became a great deal faster and my peripheral vision a great deal better. It took a month for me to learn the tell tale signs I was about to be pounced on (either a quick inhale as Growlithe took in a new scent, or a thud as he jumped up). Then it took another month before I became fast enough to avoid my pokemon hurling himself at me.

Once he realized that he couldn't land on me anymore, he stopped trying. Instead he would jump between myself and whatever he deemed was harmful to me. I figured this would be the best I could hope for and tried to think positive thoughts. No one ever was going to be able to sneak up on me. I was even alerted to the presence of my parents with a quick bark from Growlithe when they returned home. It started to look like things would turn out fine, and we would actually make an excellent team.

Then the worst happened.

My parents, Growlithe, and I were out for an evening stroll. I stopped to look into a shop's window when a really cute guy started to talk to me. My mind was so clouded from talking with this cute guy that I didn't hear the tell tale signs of an attack coming. One moment I was laughing too hard to something the trainer said, and the next my face was pressed into the concrete. I would have killed Growlithe right there if the guy hadn't laughed and my parents weren't there. But it didn't stop me from yelling at my dad when I saw him feed Growlithe a treat while calling him a good pokemon and telling him to always protect me from, "the enemy." After that, no guy could get within ten feet of me without Growlithe intervening.

It was at this point I entertained the idea of trading him right then and there. But my parents would kill me once they found out and somehow find a way to get him back. That was why I decided to wait until I was eighteen (and perhaps on a different continent) before I tried the trade.

I actually became very depressed at this point. Gwen was gone on a small trip with her parents, my parents were at work all day, so I was stuck with Growlithe instead. This meant I couldn't go out to the store, as we had been kicked out when Growlithe had decided to tackle a person too close to me one day. We couldn't go to the arcade, as Growlithe was scared of all the flashing lights and had ended up setting one of the machines on fire. Even the park was too exhausting to go to because it meant I would have to yell at Growlithe about barking the entire time I was there.

Instead I was stuck at home. Every day. Watching TV.

Growlithe curled up on the couch next to me and closed his eyes. Since I had become depressed he had become even more obsessed with being with me every moment of every day. He knew that I was upset about something, but couldn't figure out what it was. So instead he became even more alert hoping to protect me from whatever was upsetting me.

This just made me even more depressed.

My mood was finally broken with the event leading to me obtaining my second pokemon.

It was an accident. I was up late, watching one of the shows I had recently become obsessed with, when I fell asleep half way through it. I woke up to the sounds of pokemon battles. At first I started to cuss at myself inside my head because I had fallen asleep before I found out if one of the characters was really a shape shifter or not. Then I noticed the show that was currently playing. It was a pokemon battle game show. Nothing that impressive or unique, but the battle that was occurring was very impressive. Only one pokemon per trainer, in a 1vs1 battle. Then after the battle, the trainer didn't heal his pokemon. This peaked my interest even more.

The show had three rounds, each with the same rules. One pokemon only, and after the battle the trainer can not heal his pokemon.

I felt the excitement of the challenge infect me. Then I looked over at Growlithe, who's head was still on the pillow but was looking at me with an open eye. Growlithe may be annoying, but he was a strong pokemon. From training the first couple months, he had grown a lot in strength and speed.

Then something else on the TV caught my attention. Whoa, wait a minute. Did they just give the trainer a Dratini for beating all three levels? That was a very rare pokemon in our part of the world.

I want one.

And then, it seemed the universe was finally smiling on me again. At the end of the show an announcement popped up, "Calling all trainers in the surrounding area. Do you think you have what it takes to beat our three level pyramid? If so, call the number you see on the screen! Must be sixteen years of age or older to enter."

I was calling the number as soon as he said sixteen.

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Convincing my parents to let me compete was a lot simpler then I thought it would be. My only conclusion was that they had noticed my lack of enthusiasm for anything of late, and thought that if I was putting this much effort into something it meant I was back to my old self.

The people at the TV station also took less convincing than I thought. But then again, I had to give them my full name to compete. Once they checked out if I was really who I said I was, they immediately schedule me for the show. It had been awhile since either one of my parents had been on TV, and I guessed they decided I would be the next best thing. This caused a little resentment from me, but if it got me closer to a rare pokemon, I would suffer through it.

It was exactly two weeks after watching the show that I step up on the stage. Gwen had come to watch my compete and I could here her yelling from the front row. Beside me stood Growlithe, looking more dangerous then I had ever seen him. I knew the toughest part would be to get Growlithe inside the studio without trying to knock me over from everything and everyone. We had sat outside the door for half an hour talking before I would let him in.

"I promise, if you don't attack anyone, I will stay inside for a week without going outside," I tried to barter with Growlithe. He just tipped his head to one side in confusion.

"We can win this. But I can't have you trying to bark every time you see someone. If you do that, we won't even make it to the stage," I continued. His head just tipped to the other side with a, "Growl?".

I sighed, and tried to think of something else to do. Then an idea hit me.

"If you don't bark at a single person today, I'll give you steak even night for a week."

Growlithe's eyes lit up from the fire inside of him. I allowed myself a small victory dance from winning this small argument.

True enough, Growlithe didn't bark at a single person walking to the stage. He did growl and look like he would murder anyone who got within five feet of me though. I was very glad for this though when we reached the stage. I hoped it made up for how nervous I was feeling.

The first trainer walked up to the other side, and sent out her first pokemon. Snivy. I smirked as all my nervousness left me, this match was already over.

I blocked out the sound of the audience, just waiting for the bell to chime to signal the beginning of the match.

There.

I could hear the trainer on the other side yell out, "Snivy, use Leech Seed!"

I responded with, "Growlithe, Quick Attack to dodge, then Fire Fang." A second before the seeds hit Growlithe, he was gone. Only to reappear next to the Snivy to use Fire Fang. The Snivy fainted and Growlithe came trotting back to sit in front of me and bark once in victory. Without realizing it, I reached over and patted him on the head.

I didn't let myself hear the audience still. I just waited for the next opponent. It was a Muckrow.

This battle lasted longer. The Muckrow kept flying around so that Growlithe couldn't get close enough to attack with any of his more powerful moves. Growlithe got hit with a wing attack and started to limp on one of his legs. I felt a stab of pain go through mine, as if I shared the same injury. But wait, after the attack, it left Muckrow open as he flew back up into the air. That was the opportunity.

Growlithe was growling as he stared at the flying bird pokemon. I could tell he wanted to attack again, but that would just be a waste. We would just have to bide our time until an opening came again.

Wing attack again. Perfect. "Growlithe! Turn around!" I yelled. I could see the confusion on the other trainers face, but Growlithe didn't hesitate and did exactly as I said. "Flamethrower!" I yelled again.

At this point the other trainer realized what was about to happen. But the Muckrow was going to fast and was too late to change course. The wing attack hit Growlithe again and I felt the pain going up his side. However, immediately after, the Muckrow flew into the long streaming path of the flame.

We had won the second battle.

I felt relief wash through me as I ran forward to hug Growlithe. I felt his tail wagging in excitement from the win, but I also felt the slight flinch from the pain from his side. I quickly released him, hoping I hadn't caused him too much more pain. He just looked at me while wagging his tail. I took that as a good sign.

I walked back to where I was supposed to stand, instead of the middle of the field. I tried to use this time to think about the situation. Growlithe was hurt. But he was also a fighter. As long as the next pokemon wasn't one of his weaknesses, I'm sure we could win the next battle.

The last trainer sauntered up with a smirk on his face. I instantly didn't like him. He seemed like he knew he would already win this battle. No one is allowed to have that look on their face except me. But then he sent out his pokemon, and I realized he had a valid reason to look like he had already won.

Corsola.

Damn it. A water and rock pokemon. None of Growlithe's fire moves would work on this pokemon. I felt myself start to fidget from nervousness. We were going to loose. That was when I heard the announcer's voice.

"This is the last battle. All Tori has to do is beat the Corsola and she has won herself our grand prize, a rare dragon pokemon!" My heart yearned for that pokemon. I wanted it, but Growlithe was hurt and probably couldn't win the battle.

"However," this caught my attention. This hadn't happened any of the other shows. "We are offering Tori a special offer because of her amazing battle skills today. If she wants, she may step down from this battle, admit defeat, but still win an amazing prize. She would receive whatever pokemon is inside this pokeball." At that, a person started to walk over to me with a pokeball in their hand. It was a light blue color with white swirls around it. I wondered if it would be a water of flying pokemon.

In the background the announcer went on, "The pokemon inside that ball could either be a very common pokemon, or it could be a super rare pokemon. It is a gamble, but this way she is assured a prize from this game. Otherwise, if she goes into the next battle and losses, she will have no prize at all. All you have to do Tori, is grab onto the pokeball and you get to keep it. Or have Growlithe attack the Corsola to initiate the battle!"

If I had been paying attention to the audience, I would have realized what was happening. Instead I was focused on the person walking up to me holding the very pretty pokeball. No, I wouldn't allow myself to become persuaded by the looks of the ball. It could be a very rare pokemon, or a common one. Would I really be okay ending up with a Patrat or the likes of it. But Growlithe probably wouldn't win, and then I wouldn't get any pokemon.

As I was thinking of the pros and cons of the situation, the attendant got closer and closer.

I could always trade whatever pokemon it was when the opportunity rises. It would also be nice to have another pokemon around to train with Growlithe. But I want that rare pokemon. Also, I wanted to prove to everyone that I am a great trainer, and not just because of my parents. I trained Growlithe with no help from them. And together we can beat that Corsola. I would prove to everyone that we can win.

It was only once I made my mind up that I heard the warning cry from the audience. In specific, it was Gwen yelling my name that caused my entire body to look for the danger that I was unaware of.

I spotted it.

No.

I couldn't believe it.

That stupid pokemon!

I was going to kill him.

"Growlithe! Don't do it!" I yelled knowing it was too late.

He was already flying through the air to tackle the attendant bringing me the pokeball. Apparently, he had been fine until someone was close to me. His protective instincts caused him to think I was in danger from the girl in the dress with the pokeball.

She was falling now. There was no way to stop herself as there was a large Growlithe on her back. She threw the pokeball into the air so that she could use her hands to help soften the fall.

I saw the ball fly through the air, and without thinking, reached up to grab it.

For a second it was silent except for Growlithe barking on top of the poor girl's back. Then the announcer spoke.

"Tori is holding the pokeball. She has chosen to back out of the competition."

I was looking at Growlithe, who looked up at me. And he had the audacity to wag his tail in happiness.


End file.
